Pal guilty of first-degree murder in Scranton killing

Facing a mandatory life sentence, Neil Pal walked out of the courtroom Thursday the same way he walked in, stone-faced, cold and emotionless.

A jury convicted the 23-year-old Scranton man of first-degree murder as an accomplice and the related conspiracy charge, for his role in Frank Bonacci’s shooting death last summer.

In the eighth day of the homicide trial, jurors deliberated for just under an hour and a half before reaching the guilty verdict. The first-degree charge will mean a mandatory life sentence, but Pal will be sentenced on the conspiracy charge at a later date.

Pal was one of two charged in the fatal shooting. Jason Dominick, 24, was charged as the shooter and a jury convicted him of third-degree murder and conspiracy last month. Dominick’s sentencing date has not been set.

Testifying Thursday morning before the trial concluded, Pal agreed that he lied to Bonacci the morning of July 20, following an all-night drinking party at his Linden Street home.

He told Bonacci he was going to give him and Dominick a ride home. Instead, Pal drove toward the step falls area off Ridge Row in Scranton, where prosecutors assert Dominick shot and killed Bonacci, whom Dominick considered a romantic rival. Pal and Dominick then forced Bonacci’s Jeep, with the Dunmore man’s body still inside, over a ravine. It sat there for the next seven days.

Bonacci was initially reported as a missing person and a massive search effort sprung up in the community until a friend found his vehicle and body on July 27. Police arrested Pal and Dominick days later.

The moment Judge Terrence Nealon read the first “guilty” in the courtroom, about two dozen of Bonacci’s family members and supporters hugged, cried and whispered “yes” and “finally” to each other.

First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said the family was satisfied with the verdict, particularly in light of Pal’s testimony, which concluded a few hours before deliberation began.

“I think the thing that was probably the most palpable was the lack of emotion in his body language and voice as he spoke,” Talerico said.

He said Pal’s words, texts and actions following the killing were cruel, giving insight into Pal’s mind before and after Bonacci’s death. Pal told members of the Bonacci family to call anytime, feigning no knowledge of the young man’s location and murder. He joked with friends and flirted with a waitress hours after the fatal shooting.

“It speaks to the mind and the heart and the soul of the person who does those things,” Talerico said. “It’s troubling.”

On the stand Thursday, Pal said it was his decision to go to the step falls area after Dominick told him that he intended to fight Bonacci.

As he testified, Pal spoke in an even-toned voice, often answering with only one or two words.

He addressed questions about a .38-caliber revolver handgun that he received from Cameron Kashmer. Prosecutors believe it was used in the murder but was never recovered. Kashmer testified that he gave it to Pal to pay a debt. Pal said he sold it to a man, who he knew only by a nickname, well before Bonacci was killed.

He never mentioned his possession of that revolver during interviews until he was confronted with information Kashmer gave to police.

At least four times during his testimony, Pal disputed the accuracy of police reports recounting his interviews.

Nowhere in those reports was any mention that Pal was waiting for Dominick to turn himself in, Talerico pointed out. Pal testified Wednesday that he kept the secret, waiting for Dominick to come clean on his own.

“The first time you ever said that, since you were arrested, in public, was here (Wednesday),” Talerico said.

During his closing arguments, Talerico said through Pal’s own admission — isolating Bonacci and driving to the murder — he was guilty of third-degree murder, but asked the jury to find the Scranton man guilty of first-degree charges.

“Neil Pal has demonstrated who he is,” Talerico said. “He’s a conspirator and an accomplice and he’s responsible not for the manslaughter of Frank Bonacci, but for the murder of Frank Bonacci.”

Defense attorney Paul Walker disagreed, calling Pal the “peacemaker” of his group of friends, called on to resolve issues. He said it was “beyond belief” that Dominick’s home had not been searched for the murder weapon and again disputed ballistics evidence, which he maintained did not prove any real connection between the bullet taken from Bonacci and others taken from Pal’s garage.

He said Pal’s actions following the killing wouldn’t have changed what happened. Walker said Pal’s actions also didn’t change the fact that he did not know what Dominick planned that morning.

“There is not one shred of evidence, not one shred of credible evidence, that showed he knew Bonacci was going to get shot that morning,” Walker said.

After the trial concluded, defense attorney Matt Comerford expressed disappointment in the verdict and said they plan to appeal.

He believed Pal’s acknowledgment that he covered up the killing was ultimately his downfall with jurors, but added pretrial publicity may have established some opinions.

“I think they knew what they were going to do,” Comerford said.

The verdict is the best case scenario, given the circumstances, Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano said after the trial.

“The verdict doesn’t bring Frankie back,” he said. “The next best thing that can be done is to bring justice to the family.”

rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT

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